Bioreactor technology in cardiovascular tissue engineering.

Cardiovascular tissue engineering is a fast evolving field of biomedical science and technology to manufacture viable blood vessels, heart valves, myocardial substitutes and vascularised complex tissues. In consideration of the specific role of the haemodynamics of human circulation, bioreactors are a fundamental of this field. The development of perfusion bioreactor technology is a consequence of successes in extracorporeal circulation techniques, to provide an in vitro environment mimicking in vivo conditions. The bioreactor system should enable an automatic hydrodynamic regime control. Furthermore, the systematic studies regarding the cellular responses to various mechanical and biochemical cues guarantee the viability, bio-monitoring, testing, storage and transportation of the growing tissue.The basic principles of a bioreactor used for cardiovascular tissue engineering are summarised in this chapter.